Samantha Murphy: new SoundExchange exec?
p2pnet view Music | P2P:- There’s an interesting battle going on at SoundExchange.
Who’ll be its next executive director? Another corporate music industry controlled puppet?
Or someone who really gives a damn about artists?
“SoundExchange is the non-profit performance rights organization that collects statutory royalties from satellite radio (such as SIRIUS XM), internet radio, cable TV music channels and similar platforms for streaming sound recordings”, it says on its web page.
“The Copyright Royalty Board, which is appointed by The U.S. Library of Congress, has entrusted SoundExchange as the sole entity in the United States to collect and distribute these digital performance royalties on behalf of featured recording artists, master rights owners (like record labels), and independent artists who record and own their masters.”
Looks good. All official and above-board.
Except for years it’s been playing fast and loose with artists and their money, and no one seems to be able to call it to account — in any sense of the phrase.
It’s described by Fred Wilhelms, the Nashville entertainment lawyer who’s been trying to force it to do what it’s supposed to do, as Robin Hood in Reverse.
RIAA members Vivendi Universal (France), Sony (Japan), EMI (Britain), and Warner Music (US, but controlled by a Canadian) fill six seats at the director’s table.
In other words, although the unSoundExchange was spun off as a wholly owned RIAA entity some years ago, the Big 4, only one of which can be said to be even vaguely American, still effectively crack the whip, leaving indie artists, in particular, out in the cold.
But singer-song writer Samantha Murphy (right) wants to change that.
John Simson, the outfit’s former executive director, recently moved on to pastures new.
Samantha wants his job.
“Truthfully, I believe that SX is run by the RIAA”, she says, going on, “After all, it was created by them. When I sat down with John Simson for two hours earlier this year, Laura [Williams, a hapless SX 'associate'] was in the room the entire time. We discussed SX’s methods of collection and distribution at length.
“I left feeling like I had no answers to any of my questions. A lot of blame was placed on foreign administrators and artists who refuse to complete paperwork and/or take phone calls. I’d love to share the footage with you, but SX’s legal counsel insists on watching the edit before they’ll release me to share it.
“The next day I had lunch with Cary Sherman who refused to go on record. We discussed SX at length. I’m of the opinion that the RIAA is very much running SX and has created the organization in order to control the digital age and ‘make back’ some of the money they’ve lost as the traditional business crumbles.”
Where has all the money gone? Long time asking …
Wilhelms developed a massive list of unpaid artists. Has the unSoundExchange followed it up?
Not even nearly.
The money — hundreds of millions of dollars which are still sitting in unSoundExchange coffers, gathering interest for them — is still owed.
Here’s what Samantha says on her petition to be signed up as executive director >>>
I’m Samantha Murphy. I sing and write songs for a living. I want you to support me as the new Executive Director of SoundExchange.
Most artists aren’t aware that SoundExchange has been given the right to collect all royalty payments from online and satellite radio sources. Regardless of whether you’ve signed with them or not. Unlike BMI and ASCAP, they have no competitor. The government has declared SoundExchange the sole collectors of all payments owed to artists and copyright holders.
Many artists agree that, in practice, SoundExchange has been a disaster. SoundExchange claims to not be able to find 20% of the artists they represent. This doesn’t even include the thousands of artists they don’t represent, but have been collecting money for for the last 10 years. Questions about money owed to us are buried and ignored. Earlier this year, SoundExchange even announced a balance of $200 million in outstanding royalties. This money belongs to us.
For too long, artists have relied on others to make sure we are paid the money we need to live. But now we are living in a new age. It’s time for artists to take control of our careers, our finances and our lives. We need a transparent organization controlled by us, not by major record labels who have never had our best interest in mind.
If I become president of SoundExchange, here is my commitment to you. I promise to create a transparent organization, where we are open and honest with what we are
doing with your money. I promise we will spare no effort in locating every musician that we are obligated to pay. And I promise that I will make SoundExchange finally work, so that musicians like you and me get what we are owed.
If you agree that SoundExchange needs to start working for artists like us, please sign my petition here.
Samantha is an intelligent, articulate woman with a genuine desire to see that artists get their fair dues.
If she was in charge, there’d be an excellent chance of that happening.
As things stand, there’s no chance at all.
Stay tuned.
[Photo by Luis Montemayor]
- SoundExchange: making up numbers – June 28, 2007
- SoundExchange’s Huey v Fred Wilhelms – July 3, 2007
- SoundExchange’s Huey to Wilhelms – July 5, 2007
- Has SE’s Dick Huey gone missing? – July 12, 2007
- Dear Dick Huey - October 8, 2009
- Wilhelms, Huey, SoundExchange exchange - October 19, 2009
- Dick Huey to Fred Wilhelms - November 17, 2009
- Fred Wilhelms to Dick Huey - November 18, 2009
- Soundexchange ‘green shoot of a dialogue’, December 28,2009
- Over to you, SoundExchange: Fred Wilhelms, December 29,2010
- SoundExchange artist list: the Full Monty, December 30,2009
- The SoundExchange numbers saga, January 12, 2010
- SoundExchange: $256 MILLION undistributed dollars, February 4, 2010
- SoundExchange songs of praise …
Jon Newton – p2pnet
pastures new – SoundExchange seeks new frontperson, July 2, 2010
hapless SX ‘associate’ – SoundExchange songs of praise, October 29, 2010
massive list of unpaid artists – SoundExchange artist list: the Full Monty, December 30,2009
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
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November 2nd, 2010 at 2:01 pm
I love Samantha Murphy. She has all the skills required to be a great CEO for SoundExchange; she’s smart, articulate, committed, she knows the business because she’s in it and I have yet to hear her lose her temper, which, given the usual tenor of debate on these issues, means she should be shortlisted for sainthood as well.
Unfortunately for Samantha, for SoundExchange, and for artists in general, she lacks the one thing the job description requires; an RIAA pedigree. Because of that Samantha Murphy has as much chance of being the next SoundExchange CEO as I have of replacing the Queen of England.
Be that as it may, the person who ultimately replaces John Simson will have a lot on his or her plate. And unfortunately for artists in general, what the new CEO is likely to focus on isn’t what artists need. SoundExchange isn’t going to change direction with a new CEO, because the CEO only carries out what the Board tells the CEO to do. John Simson was a capable and successful messenger boy, and there’s no reason to expect them to rock the boat with someone who challenges them the way Samantha would. If they really wanted to, here’s what they would need to fix:
1. SX’s lack of accountability for not doing a good job of paying artists
to the tune of a quarter-billion in unpaid royalties.
2. SX’s lack of responsiveness to anyone other than the RIAA or Congress.
3. The atmosphere of presumptuousness that permits SX to believe it can
amend Federal law to it’s liking in order to suit some of its members.
4. The lack of transparency that permits them to do that.
5. The total uselessness, or outright complicity, of the “independent label”
and “artist representative” Directors in participating in or condoning these
acts.
6. The total indifference to public reaction.
A tall order, even for someone as capable as Samantha Murphy. I’d love to see her try, but she’s not going to get the chance.
November 3rd, 2010 at 9:43 am
“A tall order, even for someone as capable as Samantha Murphy. I’d love to see her try, but she’s not going to get the chance.”
No chance at all as long as SoundExchange represents record companies and artists, the organized strong and the individual weak, at the same time, a grave conflict of interest.
We see the same thing in other performance rights organizations. Take ASCAP. It claims to represent music publishers, the strong, organized, lawyer represented and the songwriters, the weak individuals.
November 4th, 2010 at 11:39 pm
Taking on SoundExchange would be a GREAT job for the FAC (featured artists coalition). Too bad those douche bags are too busy trying to get three strikes laws and internet taxes passed.